David Schwimmer Almost Turned Down Friends, As He Was Traumatized by Another Sitcom
We could have a completely different Ross because of the actor's miserable experience.
The cast of the show is one of the major accomplishments of the creators of Friends. However, to get these particular actors, producers David Crane and Marta Kauffman had to work hard.
Few Friends fans know that the role of Ross was written specifically for David Schwimmer. In 1993, when Crane and Kauffman were working on Couples, Schwimmer auditioned for the role. He didn't get the part, but the creators really liked his performance.
Crane and Kauffman were working on a new project, originally called Insomnia Café, and recalled Schwimmer’s audition. And that’s how the character of Ross was born.
Schwimmer himself had already decided to get out of television. He didn't like the projects he was being offered and participated in. In particular, before Friends, David worked on the series Monty, and the experience of filming that sitcom made him disappointed with his acting career on television.
On the set of Monty, the actor tried to show his creative nature, but it was quickly stopped by the crew. Basically, David was only allowed to say his lines.
In one of the interviews, director James Burrows talked about Schwimmer's concerns:
“David initially turned down the Friends job because he had a miserable experience on another show. […] He was concerned that the show wouldn't be collaborative and that his ideas wouldn't be welcome. We were assured that this experience would be different and that it would be an ensemble.”
Moreover, David had been interested in theater since childhood and was preparing for a major role in one of the productions. When the agent told Schwimmer about the Friends project, he wanted to turn it down: he told the agent that he could read the script once, but would make no promises.
Kauffman and Crane contacted Robby Benson, the actor and director whom Schwimmer greatly admired. They asked Benson to call Schwimmer and ask him to meet with them. After that, James Burrows called the actor and convinced him to board a plane to Los Angeles.
David had a meeting with the creators of Friends, and you already know what happened next.
Source: Page Six